ms & mr – Ramblin’ Tunes

Should we say ms, mrs, mr, sir or Joey? Let’s find out in the next ninety minutes with popular tracks from my library!

Title	Artist	Comment
Mrs. Robinson	Simon & Garfunkel	The infamous song “Mrs. Robinson” by Simon & Garfunkel is the unofficial anthem of an extramarital affair. It’s the unofficial anthem of the older woman. The song’s working title was “Mrs. Roosevelt.” before it was used for the movie soundtrack of ‘the Graduate’. It includes references to big names like New York Yankees baseball player Joe DiMaggio, and Jesus. Simon also sings a quick “coo-coo-ca-choo,” which is an homage to the Beatles and their song, “I Am the Walrus.”
Mrs. Vandebilt	Paul McCartney & Wings	“Mrs. Vandebilt” by Paul McCartney & Wings was released in 1974, written by Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney. The opening lines of the song are taken from the catchphrase of English music hall performer Charlie Chester. Chester’s catchphrase was “Down in the jungle living in a tent, better than a bungalow, no rent”; the lyrics subsequently changed to “Down in the jungle living in a tent, You don’t use money you don’t pay rent”.
Lady Madonna	The Beatles	Lady Madonna is written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. Paul McCartney used a 1905 Vertegrand piano on “Lady Madonna” and based his part for the song on Humphrey Lyttelton’s trad jazz rendition of “Bad Penny Blues”.
Vous Permettez Monsieur	Salvatore Adamo	“Vous Permettez Monsieur” written and performed by Adamo is a song about a young man who asks permission to dance with a young woman, to her father who protects him.
Dear Mrs. Applebee	David Garrick	“Dear Mrs. Applebee” is a song covered by David Garrick (born Philip Darrell Core in Liverpool on12 September 1945), written and first recorded by Flip Cartridge (born Billy Meshel).
Tell Laura I Love Her	Ricky Valance	“Tell Laura I Love Her” written by Jeff Barry and Ben Raleigh, was a US top ten popular music hit for singer Ray Peterson in 1960 and later that year recorded and released by Ricky Valance in the United Kingdom. The lyrics of “Tell Laura I Love Her” originally concerned a rodeo, not an automobile race, as composer Jeff Barry was an aficionado of cowboy culture; Barry rewrote the song, in order to more closely resemble the No. 1 hit “Teen Angel”.
Sylvia’s Mother	Dr. Hook	“Sylvia’s Mother” is an autobiographical song with songwriter Shel Silverstein, desperate to continue the relationship with Sylvia Pandolfi, called her mother, Louisa (Mrs. Avery). Shel Silverstein wrote “The Ballad of Lucy Jordan”, first recorded by Dr. Hook in 1975, and re-recorded by Marianne Faithfull in 1979. Silverstein also wrote Cash’s biggest hit, “A Boy Named Sue”
A Boy Named Sue (Live)	Johnny Cash	“A Boy Named Sue” is a song written by humorist, children’s author, and poet Shel Silverstein and made famous by Johnny Cash. Cash recorded the song live in concert on February 24, 1969, at California’s San Quentin State Prison for his At San Quentin album.
A Girl Called Johnny	The Waterboys	The Waterboys are a British-Irish folk rock band formed in London in 1983 by Scottish musician and songwriter Mike Scott. “A Girl Called Johnny” was inspired by American singer-songwriter Patti Smith, who has a line about a girl called Johnny in one of her songs, called ‘Redondo Beach’. Mike Scott noticed that Johnny is a hero or heroine on lots of her early songs.
Me & You and a dog named Boo	Lobo	“Me & You and a dog named Boo” was written and performed by Roland Kent LaVoie (born July 31, 1943), better known by his stage name Lobo (which is a Spanish word for wolf), a song inspired by his big German Shepherd dog: Boo.
Elle Voulait Qu’on L’appelle Venise	Julien Clerc	“Elle Voulait Qu’on L’appelle Venise” is composed by Julien Clerc and Étienne Roda-Gil. The song is about a woman’s desire to be called Venice It’s possible that she wants to be a romantic and mysterious figure like the city of Venice herself or that she wants to be seen as cultured and sophisticated or that she wants to escape her current reality by becoming someone else, and Venice is a symbol of that escape. Julien Clerc released the song after his breakup with France Gall after a relationship during five years.
Please Mr. Postman	The Marvelettes	“Please Mr. Postman” is the debut single by the Marvelettes for the Tamla (Motown) label, written by Georgia Dobbins, William Garrett, Freddie Gorman, Brian Holland and Robert Bateman, on which Marvin Gaye plays the drums.
Mr. Tambourine Man	The Byrds	American band The Byrds was formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964 when Roger (Jim) McGuinn, Gene Clark, and David Crosby came together as a trio. “Mr. Tambourine Man” was written and composed in early 1964 by Bob Dylan. On January 20, 1965, the band entered Columbia Recording Studios in Hollywood to record the then-unreleased Bob Dylan song “Mr. Tambourine Man” as their debut single.
Mr. Bojangles	The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band	“Mr. Bojangles” is a song written and originally recorded by American country music artist Jerry Jeff Walker in 1968. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was founded around 1966 in Long Beach, California, United States, by singer-guitarist Jeff Hanna and singer-songwriter-guitarist Bruce Kunkel and released in 1970 a version of Jerry Jeff Walker’s “Mr. Bojangles”.
Mr. Jones	Counting Crows	Counting Crows lead vocals and writer, Adam Duritz explained that even though the song “Mr. Jones” is named for his friend Marty Jones, it is actually about Duritz himself.
Me And Mrs Jones	Billy Paul	“Me and Mrs. Jones” is a 1972 soul song written by Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, and Cary Gilbert, and originally recorded by Billy Paul.
Mr. Sandman	Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris	“Mr. Sandman” (or “Mister Sandman”) is a popular song written by Pat Ballard and published in 1954. It was first recorded in May of that year by Vaughn Monroe & his orchestra and later that year by The Chordettes and the Four Aces. The Chordettes’ recording of the song was released on the Cadence Records label on both 78 RPM and 45 RPM formats. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris covered the song in 2016.
Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard	Paul Simon	‘Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard’ is written and performed by Paul Simon in 1972 and produced by Phil Ramone. “Julio and I down by the schoolyard” would be correct. The line, “Rosie, the queen of Corona,” references the Corona neighbourhood in Queens, New York.
Ivan Boris et moi	Marie Laforêt	“Ivan Boris et moi” by Marie Laforet was written by Émile Stern and Eddy Marnay. The lyrics paint a nostalgic picture of a group of friends, Anton, Ivan, Boris, and the singer herself, along with Rebecca, Paula, and Johanna. Marie Laforêt, born Maïtena Marie Brigitte Douménach (5 October 1939 – 2 November 2019): Maïtena, which is of Basque origin, means “beloved” and Douménach, her last name, is Catalan in origin – Domènec in Catalan.
Jack and Diane	John Mellencamp	“Jack & Diane” is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter John Mellencamp (John Cougar) as a tribute to life in the rural working class. The song was originally about an interracial couple, where Jack was African American and not a football star, but the record company persuaded him to change it.
Johnny And Mary	Robert Palmer	“Johnny and Mary” is a song written and performed by Robert Palmer, while living in Nassau, Bahamas with a large ex-pat community comprised of people who thought moving to the Bahamas would solve their problems, only to discover their issues travel with them. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s it was the signature tune in advertisements promoting Renault cars.
Frank & Ava	Suzanne Vega	“Frank & Ava” written and performed by Suzanne Vega is a song about the relationship between Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner. Gardner’s quote about her relationship with Sinatra: “We were great in bed. It was usually on the way to the bidet when the trouble began.” inspired Suzanne Vega.
The Ballad of John and Yoko	The Beatles	John Lennon wrote the “The Ballad of John and Yoko” while he and Ono were on their honeymoon in Paris, and refers to their “Bed-In” at the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel and their demonstration of “bagism” in March 1969.
Michelle	David & Jonathan	David & Jonathan teamed with George Martin to do a cover of the Beatles’ 1966 hit single “Michelle”. “Michelle” was a tune that Paul McCartney had written in Chet Atkins’ finger-picking style.
Michele	Gérard Lenorman	Michèle was written by the talented French singer-songwriter Gérard Lenorman telling the story of a man reminiscing about a lost love named Michèle. The song makes a reference to The Beatles with the quote ‘Oh Yesterday’. Gérard Lenorman (born 9 February 1945) is a French singer born at the Château de Bénouville, Calvados (Normandy) as the son of Madeleine Lenormand and an unknown German soldier.
Valerie (’68 Version)	Amy Winehouse	This is the original version of Winehouse’s cover of a single by the Liverpool group The Zutons in 2006. According to Mark Ronson, this version is the one Amy loved the most. It was penned in 20 minutes by their lead singer Dave McCabe about an American friend of his, Valerie Starr, who was having a hard time after getting caught drink driving. Valerie Star, celebrity makeup artist, was dating The Zutons’ frontman Dave McCabe, but lived in Florida at the time and found herself in trouble with the law, which prevented them being together.
Valerie	Steve Winwood	Steve Winwood wrote the music and Will Jennings wrote the lyrics of “Valerie” that was first released in 1982, in 1987 remixed by Tom Lord Alge with revised drum and vocal tracks for compilation album Chronicles. In 2004, the song was remixed once again, this time by the Swedish DJ Eric Prydz as “Call On Me.”

Sources

The information sources of the song facts include, but are not limited to, Wikipedia, songfacts.com, discogs.com, secondhandsongs.com, YouTube and artists’ related websites.